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Standardized testing: Which level?


purpleowl
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I am preparing to make my annual order of the Iowa test to administer to DD#1. She is in 2nd grade this year based on her age. I'm trying to decide whether to order the 2nd grade test, or a test for a higher grade level. The testing is for my own info, not for a state requirement. 

 

If you have done above-level standardized testing for your child, why did you opt to do so? Do you think it was a good/useful choice? How did you decide how far up to go (i.e., how many grade levels above your child's age-based grade)?

 

If you considered doing this but decided to stick with the age-based grade level, why did you make that decision? 

 

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences. :)

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I started with one year ahead when my son was in K.  I bumped it up to two years when he was in 2nd and a third year when he was in 4th.  I then kept it at 3 years for the remainder of the time we homeschooled (8th grade) because I didn't want to run out of test levels before then (the ITED ends at grade 11).

 

My goal was to have him score at around the 90th percentile (total and composite scores) as compared to the higher level students.  That way I could see areas of relative strength and weakness but at the same time the test would be relatively easy for him to do.

 

If your daughter has taken the Iowa and her percentiles were mostly above 95, I would bump her up one level this year.  I wouldn't do more than one level because the 3rd grade ITBS has a format change (where the child reads the test herself and uses a separate answer sheet) which can throw some kids off.  If her percentiles come back at 95 or higher on the above level test, I would bump her up another level next year.  

Edited by EKS
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We tested out of level last year and will continue to do so.

 

Last year, DD was finishing kindy by age. I was confident she would hit 99%ile on standardized testing at her level, and chose the second grade test. She was still 99%ile on the LA portion of that one, so I will go three years out of level this year. She was lower in math, but got pretty much exactly the score I expected. LA is the subject area I'm constantly lost in for her, because it is the subject where all her asynchronicity shows, and it is therefore the subject matter I most want the testing for.

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I'd pick the level based on the grade level I think the kid is working at - maybe one grade lower, so that if I'm wrong it's not too insanely hard. So, if you think your 2nd grader is working at a 3rd grade level, I'd do the 2nd or 3rd grade level test, if I thought she was working at a 4th grade level I'd probably do 3rd grade level, if I thought 5th grade, probably 4th grade, etc.

 

Of course, you could just buy a test prep book for some grade and see how she does with that, and then base your actual test decision off of that.

 

FWIW, I have zero experience with the IOWA since I'm not allowed to administer it. So, we do that CAT/TerraNova. Last year my then 3rd grader scored roughly the same on the 3rd grade CAT (84th percentile) as on the 5th grade SCAT (for which he qualified based on his vocab score on the CAT, but then scored much better on the quantitative/math portion), so I'm not sure what to do this year.

Edited by luuknam
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Thanks for the replies!

 

Am I correct in thinking that if we do, for example, the 4th grade test, we will get results for how she performed relative to 4th graders AND results for how she performed relative to other 2nd graders? I seem to remember reading something like that in the past, but I can't find it now, so I may be mixing up out-of-level testing with something else in my brain. I order the tests through BJU Press, in case that matters.

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Thanks for the replies!

 

Am I correct in thinking that if we do, for example, the 4th grade test, we will get results for how she performed relative to 4th graders AND results for how she performed relative to other 2nd graders? I seem to remember reading something like that in the past, but I can't find it now, so I may be mixing up out-of-level testing with something else in my brain. I order the tests through BJU Press, in case that matters.

 

If you write her grade level as 4 on the answer sheet, you will get scores relative to other 4th graders.  You have to call or email them to ask about how to get what they call a score adjustment where you can get the scores as compared to 2nd graders.  It costs something like $20 extra.  

 

Because of the format change between 2nd and 3rd grade, some of the scores as compared to 2nd graders will be blank.  Also, since they don't do the score adjustments by hand anymore, it may not be possible to get them for 2nd grade on a 4th grade test.  If it isn't, I'd just do 3rd grade instead.

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